Apparatus for drying material in the form of webs.



B. R. ANDREWS. .APPARATUS FOR DRYING'NIATERIAL IN THE FORM OF WEBS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25.1918.

v1,287,172. I Patented De0.10, 1918.,

. \nyehiorf 'Bernmfd. RAn'drews (W vs UNITED s ATEs PATENT o EIo BERNARD a. ANDREWS,- or BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING MATERIAL IN THE FORM OF WEBS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented De'c.'10, 1918,

Appl ication filed April 25, 1918. Serial No. 230,646.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BERNARD .R. AN

' DREws, a citizen of the United States, residing at Braintree, county of Norfolk, State lowing description,- in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification,

like characters on the. drawing representing 1 like parts. Y

.This invention relates to driers of that type which are designed for drying material in'the form of a web and'which comprise a plurality of traveling. poles over which the web of material is festooned while i-t'is bein g dried. Drying apparatus of this sort isusually provided with means for delivering the web of material onto the poles successively, the rate of delivery being such relative to the speed of travel of the poles that the material will be festooned over each pole. Such apparatus is also sometimes provided with a clamping roll which on gages each pole as the material is being laid thereover so as to clamp the material to the pole and to prevent the weight of the lastformed festoon from causing the material to slip on the pole while a new festoon is 7 being formed.

While the clamping roll can be success- I fully used on uncoated Web material, yet it 'is not feasible to use it on freshly-coated web material. because the engagement of the clamping roll with the freshly coated surface of the'web would-injure such surface and thereby result in the production of ne of the obj tion is to .provideia novel means for 'clamping or holding the web to eachpole as it is being festooned thereover, which means operates to perform its function without causing a. clamping member to have physical contact with the web. My improved -means can be successfully used" in connection Withv freshly coated web material. because since the device does not involve a clamping member that has physical contact with the web there is nothing that canmar or disturb the freshly-coated. surface of the I web,

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel means for guiding the web as'itis delivered to the drying appara-' roll 1 ects of my present inven-' two jets operating to hold. the web in proper. position as it is delivered to the poles. The webis held to each pole-as it is laid thereover by air pressure, this result being herein attained by a device adapted to deliver a jet or sheet of air under pressure against the .web as it is laid over each pole. The construction of the guiding means for the web is such that it also assists in holding-the web to the'pole, for the air current which is delivered against one side of the web is directed into the festoon as the latter' is being formed and the pressure of the air against the. forming festoon tends to counterbalance the weight of the previouslyformed festoon and thus assists in holding at the web on the. pole.

In order to give an understanding of my invention I have illustrated-in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof whichwill now be described, after which the novel features thereof will be pointed out in the appended claims. i b

Figure l is a. vertical sectional view through an apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig.2 is a section on the line 2 2 Fig. 1; Fig- 3 is a section through the suction Fig. at shows the operation of the webguiding and delivering device;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view-of the webguiding device.

The web which is to be dried is indicated at 1 and during the drying operation it is formed in festoons 3 over a plurality of poles 2 aspsual in web-drying apparatus. The poles 2 are arranged to travel from one end to the other of the drier, and for this purpose are connected by chainsor other able feed roll 6 and is taken from the drier at the opposite end by any Suitable means, Such as two delivery'rolls A The parts thus far described areor may be all as usual in .web d'rying apparatus and form nopart of my present inventlon.

In the operation of driers of this type thepoles 2 in the upper run of the endless chain are given a traveling movement from one to the other end of the drier, and as each pole passes under the feed roll 6 a festoon '3 of the web'is laid thereover, the web'hanging in festoons as it passes through. the drier until it is taken from the drier by the delivery rolls 7.

In order to insurethe proper form'ation of each festoon it is necessary that the web should be properly guided as it is being laid over each pole and it is also necessary to proyide means for preventing the weight of. the previously-formed festoon from causlng the web toslip on the pole during the initial formative stage of the festoo'n'. As,stated above, this invention has. for its objects to provide novel means for thus guldlng the web and' for holding it. to the pole during the formation of each festoon.

For guiding the web as it is dehvered to the pole I provide pneumatic means ar-' ranged to, deliver an air jet against each side of the web adjacent to'thepath of movement of the poles, said 'air'jets being delivered downwardly against the web in an inclined direction. and operating to hold the web in proper position. Any suitable means may be employed for thus delivering the air jets I to the web. I have herein shown for this purposetwo nozzle devices"8*and 9, eachof which is provided at its lower end wlth a delivery opening in the form of a slitor a sides of the weband serve tovfloat the 'web' plurality of jet nozzles so situated that when air is' delivered therefrom it will assume a sheet-like form which is directed 'down'- wardly in anin clined direction against theweb. Thetwo delivery openings are indicated at 10 and'll, respectively. The 'sheet-,

like [air currents which are-delivered from the openings 10 and 11 .act against both between. the {nozzles and thus hold 'it' in proper position. With this arrangement the web will be guided between the two nozzles Without havin anything come in contact therewith at th1s point which would manor injure the'hsurfacethereof even though it is freshly coated. 1

For directing the air current-or jetlagainst the web as it is laid over each pole, I haveprovided the nozzle' 8- with'a branch 12 which is formed with'aslit '13 at its lower edge situated directly above the pole over which the web is being festooned. A sheet of air under pressure willthus be delivered through the slit 13 of thenozzle 12, Which sheet of air will impinge against the web that contacts with the pole and thus hold the web against the pole with sufii'cient pressure to prevent it from slipping. This-clamping spring 19.

action of the sheet: ofair is augmented by the action ofthe guiding sheet of air'which issues from the nozzle 8.for each sheet of air will be directed into each festoon as itis being formed, and the pressure ofthe air against the forming festoonwill. tend to -'counterbalance the weight of'the previouslyformed festoom;

Fig.-1 illustrates at 3?: a. festoon in the initial formative .stage )which is being formed over the pole 2, 3 indicating the last-formed festoon. The sheet-like current of air which isdelivered from the'nozzle 8 into the'forming festoon 3 'tends to-counterbalance the weight of the previously-formed festoon 3 A and this counterbalancing action together with the pressure of the airdelivered from the nozzle 12- will prevent the web .from slipping on the pole 2 and will thus insure that the festoons are all formed "of the proper length.

I provided forby connecting said nozzles at their ends by .yoke, members .16 which are provided with trunnions 22thatare pivoted in a suitablebracket 1-7 carriedby the frame and the pipe 15 leads into one or both of the tltunmons and thus a communication is formed between the nozzles and the fan or blower '14. The nozzle 9 is sh'ownas havinga finger 18 depending. therefrom which is engaged by each pole 2 ju st beforeitheweb i festoonedthereover; The engagement of each polewiththe finger will cause the nozzles to move with thepoles as the 'festo'on is I 18; These .yokes and trunnions are hollow being formed so that durin the forming of each fstoon the nozzles an poles are moving together. i This'insures that the air blast from the slit li'will always be directed against the pole 2 and also. insures the proper guiding of the webas each festoo isformed.

By the; t' e eachf festoon' has. en co pletelyffo med the finger 18' will wipe over ,the' pole withwhich it has been inenga'gementand the nozzles willbeireturned to their normal positionby means of a If'desirda device in the nature of'a dashpot 20 may be used 'for controlling the rearward'movement of .the nozzles. rThe' feed its periphery. Ihe interior thereof is connected' to the intake of the fan 14. by pipes or connections 23 so that the operation of the fan not only sucks the air from within; the

-.rollas herein illustrated is in the nature of v asuctionroll. It is made' hollow, as shown 'lnFig. 3', and-1s provided with apertures in sEsfr AVARLABLE ca roll 6 but also; forces the air through the iozzles 8,9 and 12. ,The roll is shown as )artially surrounded by a shield 21 which :overs all of the roll except that part with which the webhas'contact. The exhaustion veb to said roll by suction and thus the feed roll will operate to positively feed the'web as 'equired to deliver 1t properly to the drying (pparatus.

In the device as thus'described it will be,

eenthat there is nothing except theair blast vhich comes in contact with the upper or floatedside of the web and that the web will is properly guided as itis fed to the ap I iaratus and will be properly clamped or'held each pole asit isbeing festoon'ed therever-without havin any element coming in -.ontact therewith'w ich would injure or mar he coated" surface.

I" claim: a

1.1a 'a drier, the combination with a plu- 'ality;-of travelingpoles over which web mae'ria'l to be-dried may.bevfestooned, of.ineans o deliver the.web-- -f1 naterial 'to a said poles ucces sively",'-and pneumatic means for-holdmg the web on eachpole as it is being fesj 2.'In a drier,' the combination with a pluiality oftraveling poles 'over which web "material to be dried ma. be festooned, of

- neans to'deliver the -we material to said dles successively, and means to direct a cur- ?entof air against the web as it is being laid lover each pole. A a v 3. In a drier, the combination with a pluiality of traveling poles over which web mas eria'l to be. dried may be festooned, of means -.essivel' and means to direct a sheet of air ntoeac festoon as it is bein formed.

4. Infa drier, the combinatlon with a pluyalityof traveling poles over which 'web maeri'al-to be' dried may be festooned, of means ofdeliver the web material to said oles suc- :essively, and means acting on eac festoon 9. In-a dr1er,'the com o'\de;liver the Web material to said poles suc festoon.

5. In a drier, the combination with a plu- -1-alityof traveling poles over which web ma- )f the air from the feed roll will hold the terial to be dried maybe festooned, of means to deliver the web material to sald poles successively, and means to apply to.

each festoon as it is being formed a counterpoles successively, and'p'neumatic means for guiding the webv material as it is laid over each' ole and formed into festoons.

' 7. n adrier, the combination wlth a pluto deliver the web material to said poles successively,'and pneumatic means situated between the web-delivering: means, and the 'festoons.

* balancing-air pressure to counterbalance the weight of the previously-formed festoon.

means to deliver the web material to said v rality of traveling poles over which web material to be dried may be festooned, of means 7o 5 .,po les forguiding'xthe web material as it-is;

being laid over each pole and formed into 8. In a drier, the combination witha-plurality of traveling-poles over'which web material to be driedmay be festooned, of means to deliver the web material to said poles successively, 'and'means to direct a current of air against each side of the web between the poles and the deliverin means. I

ination with a plurality of traveling poles over which web material to be dried may be festooned, of means to deliver the web material to said-poles successively, and means acting on the portion of each forming festoon betweentwopoles t0 counterbalance the weight of the last-formed fe'stoon. y

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 'n'ame to this specification.

' BERNARD R. ANDREWS. 

